There are no secrets better kept
by The Creative Writer
Summary: When Casey gets into a car accident, leaving her in a coma, Derek is more worried than he cares to admit. DASEY. Reviews are very welcome! Disclaimer: Life With Derek is property of the Family Channel.
1. DEREK!

**Chapter One**

A piercing beeping noise woke Casey from her dreamless sleep. She sat up and blinked hard, trying to wake herself up. She reached over to her alarm clock and hit the off button, reading the time 6:30. If she was lucky, she would beat Derek to the bathroom, and the shower. She stretched and got out of bed, beginning to remove her flannel pajamas when she heard Derek's alarm, set to play the local rock station at full blast, go off. She groaned and reached for the supply of towels she kept stacked neatly in the corner of her room. She wrapped herself in one and raced to open her bedroom door. Standing there, across the hall from her, Derek had opened his door at the same time. Standing only in his sweatpants, his eyes met Casey's and narrowed. Casey took off and headed down the hall for the bathroom, but Derek was too quick and rushed past her, knocking her down on the way.

"DER-EK!" She yelled, trying to stand up without losing the towel from around her. Derek stuck his head out of the bathroom and snickered, "Snooze ya lose, Space." He closed the door behind him and locked it. Casey groaned and went back to her room. Now she'd have to wait until his was done, and just because he enjoyed being annoying, he always took super long showers.

Later, after Casey had finished her shower, both of them were called down for a quick breakfast of eggs and bacon before school. Derek pushed and shoved his way into the kitchen and got the biggest slices of bacon before the rest of the family had any pick.

"Derek, could you pass the pepper, please?" Casey asked, holding out her hand for the shaker. Derek just snorted, "Uh..no."

"Derek, you are impossible. Edwin, could you please pass the pepper?" Casey asked, looking towards Edwin expectantly. Edwin, who was sitting next to Derek complied and handed over the pepper shaker. Edwin and Lizzie finished their meals first, and were soon taken to school by Nora. Casey and Derek spent the rest of the meal exchanging harsh words and catty comments before they had to leave for school as well.

"I'm driving." Derek exclaimed, Casey, who had a huge Chemistry test to worry about, didn't argue. It disheartened Derek a little to not get any retaliation out of her, but he was just happy to get his way. It was Friday; after all, he had a big game tomorrow and a big date tomorrow night. If Casey didn't want to argue, it was fine with him. Except for the radio, playing the same rock station as Derek's alarm clock, the car ride to school was silent.

Casey spent the time she wasn't in class studying for her chemistry test by quizzing herself with index cards, neatly inscribed with questions on one side and answers on the other. Chemistry was her last class of the day, and she was going to use all the time she could studying. By the time lunch rolled around, she knew every answer to every question, but she was still nervous about the test. A voice behind her was the last thing she wanted to hear:

"Well, Librarian Casey, what are we learning today?" Derek asked, snatching the index cards from her hands. He stared at them for a second with a blank look on his face before Casey took them back. "_I'm_ learning chemistry. Looks like you are learning absolutely nothing, like always." Derek smirked, "I happen to be very good at….certain subjects." He paused, trying to think of any subject that he was good at, but when he couldn't think of any, he settled for a lie. Casey just laughed and shook her head in 

disbelief. Before she had a chance to ask which subjects he was talking about, Derek walked off towards the cafeteria.

When the last period rolled around, Casey was confident that she had done well on the chemistry test. At the ring of the bell, Casey stood up and gave her test another looking over before turning it into the teacher with a smile. She was pretty sure that she had answered almost every question right.

She made her way to her locker and stopped to chat with Emily for a bit. They planned on meeting later, at Emily's, but Casey headed to the rink to watch Sam and Derek in hockey practice. Derek was her ride home, after all, and it was fun to watch the boys knock each other around. It wasn't long before practice was over; Derek didn't have a great practice, and was grumpy on the way home. They avoided each other the rest of the evening, as much as possible, and were even civil to each other at dinner.

After dinner, Casey picked up Twilight and started reading it for the fifth time. She fell asleep an hour later, wondering why the guys she knew couldn't be more like Edward. She'd even settle for a Jake.


	2. The Accident

Casey's Point-of-View

It was Saturday, and Casey was woken by her alarm at 9:00 AM. It was nice to sleep in. She and Emily were going to the mall around 10:30 or so, and if she was going to get to use the car that her and Derek shared, she was going to need to get out of bed and take a shower, quickly. After her shower, competition free because Derek slept until 10:00 on game days, Casey headed downstairs to get some breakfast and leave. She made herself a bowl of cereal and a large glass of orange juice. She still had half an hour to kill, so she took her breakfast into the living room and turned on the television. She was busy flipping through channels when Derek appeared at the top of the stairs, followed closely by George, Nora, and Lizzie.

"Good morning, guys!" Casey yelled towards the stairs, and she got a groggy "mmm…morning" from George and Nora, but the other two completely ignored her.

Casey, having anticipated a fight over the car, walked into the kitchen and made Derek a huge bowl of his favorite carbo-loaded cereal. It was the breakfast he ate before every game and Casey handed it to him with a smile. Derek cocked his head at her and asked, in all seriousness, "Did you spit in this?"

Casey laughed and shook her head, "Of course not, Derek!" She tried smiling again, but was unsuccessful. Derek caught on quickly, "No, you can't take the car."

Casey started to protest, but he shook his head. "Case, you're the one that set up the car schedule. Today is my Saturday. Next week is yours. You're not getting the car."

Casey groaned, "Der-ek!" It will just before the afternoon! I'll be home before 2:00! You'll be at your game most of the time. Just let me have the car today…please?" She added as an afterthought. Derek shook his head, "No way. I'll be home around 1:00. What will I do without my car?"

"You'll live."

"No way, Casey."

"God! Der-ek! Stop being such an asshole!"

The word shocked him, briefly. Not that he hadn't been called that before, but he'd never heard her say it. He retorted, "Stop being such a bitch, then!" She threw up her hands in disgust and defeat and walked out of the kitchen and up to her room. She called Emily using speed dial.

"Hey Emily. Derek won't let me take the car…Something about needing it after the game…No, because they'll just side with him. I did make up the schedule…Do you think we could take your mom's car?...okay…you sure?...Alright, I'll be waiting." Casey hung up the phone and headed downstairs. Emily would be picking her up any minute in her mom's car. Emily's mom's car, a small Pontiac, was in much better shape than "The Prince", so Casey didn't mind having to take it instead. It sure smelled nicer.

Nora was still downstairs when Casey finally came down, and she told her mom about the mall.

"I'll be home around 2:00," Casey said.

"Alright, hun, be careful in the Davis's car, okay?"

"Alright, mom, we will." Casey smiled and heard the doorbell ring. She opened the door to an excited Emily.

"Let's go! One days sales won't last all day!" Emily said, completely oblivious to the irony in her last sentence. Casey grinned.

"Okay, okay!" She hugged Nora good-bye and stuck her nose up at Derek who just smirked, "See ya, Spacey."

As soon as the girls got out of the house, Casey let out a growl of frustration, "Why does he have to be so…so…EVIL?!"

"And adorable," Emily added.

"What?" Casey looked at her.

"Well, he is!"

"Nothing that evil is ever going to be considered adorable in my book," Casey said grimly.

Emily smiled sympathetically and they both got into the car. As Emily started the car, both the heater and the radio turned on. Casey turned up the radio and squealed at the song.

"I love this song!" She exclaimed.

Both of the girls started singing along to Vanessa Carlton's "Ordinary Day".

_Just a day,_

_Just an ordinary day_

_Just trying to get by._

_Just a boy,_

_Just an ordinary boy_

_But he was looking to the sky_

_And he asked if I would come along_

_I started to realize_

_That everyday he finds_

_Just what he's looking for_

_Like a shooting star, he shines._

Emily and Casey made their way onto the busy road outside their neighborhood and continued to sing along with the song. Emily slowed to a stop at a stop sign and took the opportunity to turn the volume on the stereo up.

_He said, take my hand,_

_Live while you can_

_Don't you see your dreams lie right in the palm of your hand._

Emily pulled out of the four way stop and into the intersection, still singing loudly. Neither one of them noticed the SUV that sped through the intersection. It hit them hard, on Casey's side, and the little Pontiac barely stood a chance. They barrel rolled twice before coming to a stop on its roof. The radio continued to blare through broken windows.

_And he said, take my hand_

_Live while you can_

_Don't you see your dreams lie right in the palm of your hand_

_In the palm of your hand_

Neither Emily nor Casey were singing anymore. They both lay very still in the midst of tangled metal.

_Please come with me_

_See what I see._

_Touch the stars or time will not flee_

_Time will not flee._

_Can you see?_


	3. At the Hospital

Nora's Point-of-view

The hockey rink was loud and full of screaming high schoolers rooting for Derek as he made the first goal of the game. He threw his fists in the air, basking in the applause. Nora cheered right along with them, clapping along with Marti, who was sitting in her lap for a better view.

"That was awesome!" She heard Lizzie say to Edwin, who nodded his agreement.

"Yeah, Derek! Awesome shot!" George yelled above the crowd.

Nora felt her pocket vibrate and gently shoved Marti onto her feet so she could take her phone out of her jeans. Nora didn't recognize the number, but it may have been someone from work. She reluctantly got up and walked out of the arena to a quieter spot before answering.

"Hello? Nora Venturi." She said into the phone. Her usual greeting for business calls.

_Yes? Oh, uh, is Mrs. MacDonald there?_

"That's my ex-husbands name. May I ask whose calling?" Nora frequently got phone calls and mail addressed to Nora MacDonald. It was annoying, but she'd only been married to George for two years.

_Oh, well. There's been an accident. Your daughter, Casey, has been sent to Memorial Hospital. She is not very stable right now and is in ICU. If you'd come down to the hospital, we can explain further._

Nora listened in horror as her worst fears were realized. She muttered a scared, "Okay" into the phone and rushed back into the arena. She pulled George aside and told him what happened. He lost the color in his face, just as Nora had moments earlier.

"Look, I'll drive to the hospital. You stay here with the kids, and you can drive up to the hospital after the game," Nora started.

"You can't do this alone, Nora," George said, solemnly.

"Yes, but we don't need the kids freaking out yet and Derek is going to need a ride anyway."

"Alright, Nora. Please, call me with news as soon as you hear anything."

Nora nodded and left the arena for the parking lot.

George's Point-of-view

"Where'd Mom go?" Lizzie asked when George returned to his seat. She didn't sound very concerned, but George really didn't want to keep everything from them. The situation really couldn't get much worse.

"There was an emergency. Don't worry about it right now. Just enjoy the game," George tried to keep a straight face as he said this but there was no fooling the Venturi-MacDonald kids.

"What kind of emergency," Edwin asked.

"Is Mom okay?" Lizzie fired.

"Is somebody hurt, daddy?" Marti asked, eyes full of concern. George sighed. He couldn't lie to them and they would find out eventually.

"Your sister has been in a car accident and she was taken to the hospital." George said, leaving out the more serious details.

"Casey? What happened? Is she okay?" Lizzie asked, suddenly frantic.

"I don't know yet. I'm sure she's fine. You're mother went to the hospital to check up on things and we'll go as soon as the game is over," George responded.

The next hour was the longest of George's life. Between hi s worry about Casey, Marti's crying, and Edwin and Lizzie's questions, George was a wreck.

When the final buzzer screeched, George led the kids to the concession stand.

"Wait here while I go get Derek," he told them. Marti attached herself to Edwin's leg and he wrapped an arm around her protectively. He and Lizzie both nodded.

George headed to the locker room where there was bound to be celebration. Derek had scored the one and only goal for the whole game and his team had won. George shoved his way into the locker room and looked around for Derek, but didn't see him. The coach saw George and approached him.

"Mr. Venturi! You're really not supposed to be in here, but since your son is our star of the day, I'll allow it," he nudged George with his elbows and grinned.

"Actually, Coach, I really need to speak with Derek. It's an emergency." At the solemnity of George's voice, the coach lost his smile and nodded. "Yeah, uh, alright," he made his way towards the shows and yelled in, "Venturi? Get out here. Now!"

Derek's Point-of-view

Derek, who had been in the process of taking off his uniform to get into the showers, groaned and threw his jersey back on. He looked very lopsided, wearing his full gear from the waist down and just a jersey on top.

"What?" he asked, clearly annoyed.

"Your father. He needs to talk to you," his coach explained. Derek's eyes glanced over to the entrance to the locker room and he walked over.

"You're not supposed to be in here, dad," Derek said, even more annoyed.

"Look, finish taking off your gear. Hurry. Casey's been in a bad accident. Last I heard, she's not doing real well." George looked really scared.

"What? What happened?" He suddenly felt guilty about not letting her take the car that morning, but he pushed the thought aside. His father shrugged, indicating that he didn't know. Derek finished taking his fear off and shoved it unceremoniously into his locker. He threw on his jeans, but couldn't find his shirt, so he kept his jersey on.

On the way out of the locker room Derek asked, "Do the kids know?"

George nodded, "But they don't know how serious it is and I'd appreciate it if you didn't enlighten them."

Derek nodded, "Yeah, okay. Are they still here or did they go with Nora to the hospital?"

George motioned ahead with his hand as they walked towards the concession stand. "They are waiting for us up there."

Derek strained to see them amidst the crowd and finally spotted the three of them, looking worried and scared. The five of them walked out to the parking lot and got into George's car. The ride was eerily silent until they got to the hospital. They rode the elevators to floor three, ICU, and saw Nora waiting in the lobby.

She rushed over to greet them and immediately hugged George.

"They said there hasn't been any change. She still hasn't woken up." Her face was stained with tears, and Derek felt increasingly uncomfortable. Seeing Nora cry made Marti start to cry too, and Derek picked her up to comfort her.

"When can we see her, Mom?" Lizzie asked, pulling on Nora's jacked.

"No one can see her yet. She's too unstable. She's going to need surgery too, but they can't do that until she's more stable either. I've given them permission to do whatever they have to save her, but…" Nora was talking mostly to George, but her sentence ended in more tears.

Derek looked at Marti and smiled, "Want to go with me to get something out of the vending machine, Smarti?" He tried to sound happy to make her feel better, but truthfully, he was worried too. Marti nodded and Derek put her down, taking her by the hand and leading her away from what was sure to be a very disheartening conversation. George and Nora both smiled weakly at him, thanking him silently. He returned a smile very similar to theirs before forcing on a happier one for Marti.

"Whatcha want, kiddo?" he asked, handing her a dollar.

As Marti looked through the selection of candy, momentarily distracted, Derek turned and looked back at George and Nora. He heard the phrase "pessimistic about her outcome" and lowered his head back to Marti, trying to forget about it. Marti pointed to a big chocolate candy bar.

"I want that one, Smerek." She said.

"Okay, kiddo." He lifted Marti up so that she could put the dollar in and punch in the numbers. Marti giggled when the chocolate bar fell and she writhed around so Derek would put her down. He was slow in doing so, he wasn't paying attention. Once her feet were on the floor, Marti grabbed the chocolate bar and immediately attacked it.


	4. More Waiting

**Chapter Four**

George's Point of view

By the time 5:00 rolled around, everyone was getting restless. Casey was finally stable enough to go into surgery, and she'd been in there for a little over an hour. The doctors expected a seven or eight hour surgery. Apparently some abnormalities were shown in her MRI from the accident, and the doctors were pretty worried about it. Lizzie and Edwin had gotten a deck of cards from the gift shop, and they had challenged Derek to a three-way game of War. Derek didn't seem very interested, but he was still beating them. Marti was asleep on the chair next to Nora, and Nora was looking as worried as ever.

Finally, a doctor dressed in teal blue scrubs walked into the lobby and towards them. He noticed Marti and smiled. Derek, Edwin and Lizzie looked up from their game to hear what he had to say.

He held his hand out to George and introduced himself, "I'm Dr. Roberts, I'm one of Casey's doctors." George shook his hand, and Nora shook it next. "I'm George, Casey's step-father, and this is Nora, her mother. Can you give us any more information on what's going on?"

"Well, so far, everything is going as well as expected. She's still a little unstable, but we've been able to keep her stable enough. She has a broken arm and a broken clavicle. We've set those and there were also plenty of glass shreds on her, but we've removed all those as well. She'll look pretty scratched up, but those are the extent of her physical injuries. We are expecting some problems in her brain, and we are planning on starting that part of the surgery now. I will keep you updated as much as possible, but it's likely that this will take four or five hours." He kept his voice low, trying not to wake Marti, and he succeeded.

Nora and George had thousands of questions, but they decided that the questions could wait until the surgery was over. They didn't want to delay the doctor anymore and he left, headed back towards the OR.

Lizzie put her cards down, "I don't really feel like playing anymore." She went over to the chair next to Marti and closed her eyes, clearly worried and trying not to show it.

Edwin and Derek continued the game of War for a while until, they too, didn't want to play either. Edwin and Derek both sat in chairs opposite of their father and were silent. After another hour, the younger kids were sleeping, leaving just Derek, George and Nora awake to worry about Casey. George checked his watch and beckoned for Derek to come to him. Derek complied.

"Yeah?" He whispered.

"Do you think you could take the kids home? They're tired and haven't eaten anything all night. I'm going to stay here with Nora until everything is figured out. I don't know when I'll be home, if I come home at all, so can you make sure that the kids eat something and go to bed? You might need to give them rides to school tomorrow too." George knew he was asking a lot of his son, especially since Derek wasn't the biggest 'family' person.

"Yeah, Dad, sure. Just call or text me if you hear any news, alright?" Derek gathered Marti up in his arms, waking her for only a minute. George woke the other two and told them to go home with Derek. Lizzie resisted at first, but even she was hungry and tired and finally gave in.

Derek's Point-of-View

Derek was tired, sweaty, hungry, and worried. He hated to admit it, but he really was scared about this whole Casey thing. The doctors didn't really seem all that optimistic about her…surviving. It wasn't fair. If her injuries weren't as serious, he would have teased her about getting in the accident on purpose, just to get more attention.

Once they got home, Derek started a pot of macaroni and cheese. It took three boxes to feed them all to satisfaction, Edwin and Derek eating almost two boxes on their own. At about 9:00, Derek put Marti to bed and surrounded her with her stuffed animals until he could barely pick her out between the stuffed faces. He read her a story from a fairy-tale book she had on her nightstand. The book was childish, but Marti was able to read it on her own, and that made her happy. Tonight, though, Marti let him read her a story about a princess in a castle.

After putting Marti to bed, Derek went downstairs and sat in 'his' lazy-boy recliner, watching whatever movie Lizzie and Edwin had on television. It was a cartoon, and he didn't know the name of it. At 10:00, he told them to go to bed. They started to argue, but Derek gave them such a dirty look, that they obeyed. Derek made sure that they were in bed before calling George. He didn't want Lizzie or Edwin to eavesdrop.

"So.." Derek said into the phone after George answered.

"Well, she's out of surgery." George started.

"And?" Derek pushed. _This doesn't sound good._ Derek thought.

"Well, they found some complications with her brain. There was some bleeding and swelling. They were able to stop the bleeding during the surgery, but the swelling..well, they don't know how long that will take to go down." George's voice sounded strained.

"Well, then she's going to be fine, right?" Derek said, obviously unsure.

"We don't know…Casey's in a coma Derek. They don't know when she'll come out of it. And until she comes out of it, they won't know the extent of the damage. Because of the bruising and swelling, a lot of her brain was affected, and they are mostly worried that she might have to relearn to walk and talk. Derek…Nora's a mess. I know this is a lot to ask of you, especially since you've done so much for us tonight, but I need to bring Nora home. She needs to get away from all of this."


	5. Derek, could you please?

**Chapter Five**

Derek swallowed hard. It really didn't sound good. Well, the Casey not talking part sounded okay, but not the brain damage part.

"Could you come back to the hospital and stay in her room tonight? Just in case she wakes up? I promise you'll only have to do this once. After Nora calms down a bit, we'll be able to take turns staying here. " George's voice sounded hopeful, like he wasn't really expecting Derek to agree.

"Sure, Dad. I'll stay there. But you're raising my allowance, " Derek said, trying to get a laugh out of his dad.

George chuckled weakly on the other end of the line, "Alright, you come down and we'll leave when you get here."

"Okay."

Derek hung up the phone and quickly packed a bag of things to do that night. His mp3 player, a few comic books and his Gameboy. The Gameboy was old, he rarely used it anymore, but he figured it would give him something to do. Playing Frogger all night sounded better than doing nothing.

When he got to the hospital, George and Nora were waiting for him in the ICU lobby. They led him to Casey's room, but before they went in, George took his shoulders.

"She doesn't look great, Derek, alright? She looks damn scary right now." George told him. Derek would have made a joke, if he was in any other situation.

George continued, "The doctor's think that if she hears voices, she may come out of it sooner, so try talking to her a little."

Derek nodded and looked at Nora. Her eyes were red and puffy. Derek didn't like tears, so he braced himself to go in and look at Casey. George walked in after him and put his hand on Derek's shoulder. George was right, Casey did look awful. Monster-looking awful. Nora started crying again and Derek averted his eyes. Without another word, George patted Derek on the back and Nora kissed Casey on the forehead. And then they were gone.

Derek sat in the only chair in the room, trying to ignore the fact that he could barely see Casey's face through all the tubes and machines. He put his headphones in and stuffed his face in an intriguing game of Frogger. After an hour, Derek had only gotten through level three on Frogger, and the beeping from the machines started to get annoying.

He looked up at the inanimate body of Casey and remembered what his dad had told him about talking to her.

"Sooo, Case…" he said, feeling really stupid. "You look pretty banged up." _This is retarded_, he thought, _she can't hear me._ He pulled the chair closer and propped up his feet on the edge of the bed and fell asleep.


	6. Staying the Night

**Chapter Six**

Derek was jolted awake by a violent shaking of his shoulder. He jumped, but having forgotten that his feet were still on the bed, he fell out of the chair onto his back, his feet still up in the air. It took him a few seconds to right himself and he stared angrily at the nurse that woke him.

"Visiting hours were over several hours ago." The nurse stated matter-of-factly. "Only family is allowed in the rooms after 5:00." She pointed at the clock on the wall that read 1:00 AM.

"I am family." He said vehemently. "I'm her step-brother."

"Oh." The nurse said, coloring, "Sorry about that. I just thought…"

"Yeah, I think I'm pretty clear on what you thought, thanks." He replied, a little less hotly.

"Well, I need to check her vitals. Her breathing, heart, IV, fluids, brainwaves…" She trailed off, seeing the bored expression on Derek's face. He had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. She busied herself, taking her blood pressure, tapping on the IV tube, reading some printouts. Derek sat back down in the chair and watched her. If she hadn't been so bitchy earlier, he may have been attracted to her. She was blond, and had a nice body, but she was at least ten years older than him. It weirded him out a little.

She folded Casey's blanket up from her feet and let it rest at her stomach. She studied a tube that was coming from...oh. _Weird, weird, weird…_ he thought to himself and averted his eyes before she lifted an IV bag full of yellow-ish liquid. She chuckled to herself, watching him.

"Alright, well, I'm done here." She said and started out the door.

"Wait, do I get an update?" Derek asked, looking up at her from his chair.

"Well, everything is pretty much the same. Her heartbeat and breathing are normal, considering, but her brain activity hasn't changed much except for a jump around an hour or so ago."

"What's that mean?" Derek asked, fully aware that 'around an hour or so ago', he had tried talking to her.

"Well.." She looked uncomfortable so he urged her on with a look, "Probably nothing. It happens sometimes. Usually it's just a false reading."

"Oh." Derek said, trying to sound disappointed. _God, I hope it's just a false reading_. Derek thought, then felt guilty about thinking it. _So what if she had more brain activity when I talked to her. I'm sure that happened when Nora and Dad talked to her too._ He tried to convince himself, but he knew that if she had shown any signs of brain activity, Nora and George would have said something.

The nurse left the room and Derek sat back down in the chair, but he couldn't fall asleep. He rested his feet back up on her bed. He thought about saying something to her again, but he was too afraid of what would happen, so he sat silently for 45 minutes, until he fell back asleep.

Nora's Point of View

Nora didn't get much sleep that night. She couldn't stop thinking about Casey. _What was going to happen to her? Was she going to get better? How in the hell could this have happened?_ Nothing seemed to make sense anymore. While she and George got the kids ready for school among complaints of "But I want to see Casey!" and "Derek doesn't have to go to school today!", Nora broke down a few times and started to cry. This seemed to worry the kids, so they obeyed Nora and George and went to school.

After dropping Lizzie and Edwin off at their Jr. High School and Marti off at her Elementary school, Nora and George went back to the house to get ready to go the hospital. They were almost ready to go when there was a knock on the door. Nora opened the door, expecting to tell whoever it was to go away, when she was surprised by two cops in pristine uniforms.

"Hello, ma'am." One of them said. She stepped aside and let them in the door. _Oh no, what did Derek do?_ George came from downstairs, wondering who had been at the door and asked what she was thinking out loud. "Is this about Derek?" he looked worried.

"Oh, no, no Sir. It's about your daughter's accident." Nora invited them to sit in the living room and George and Nora took a seat as well.

"My name is Officer Thompson, and this is my partner, Officer Wake. We have some new information regarding the accident."

Nora and George shook their hands, but they were more interested in the information that the police officers were about to tell them. They had already known that the car had been hit by an SUV and that the driver of the SUV was not hurt. They also knew that Emily had been driving and that her airbag had gone off, but Casey's hadn't.

"And?" George prompted.

"Well, we have some pictures of the vehicle, and we just wanted to tell you that the driver has been arrested. We came here to ask if you were going to press charges."

George took the pictures with shaky hands and looked at them. The car was a mess. He couldn't look at them for very long before returning them to Officer Thompson. Nora chose not to look. Nora spoke first.

"I don't want to press any charges. It's not the driver's fault that Casey's airbag didn't inflate." Nora said and George grasped her hand, showing her that he approved. Officer Wake nodded, "The Davis's are choosing not to press charges either." They both stood up and said their good-byes.

"Oh, Emily." Nora said under her breath. In all the hustle with Casey, she had forgotten that Emily was also in the car. She felt guilty. "George, let's get to the hospital. Derek's been there all night and it's already 10:00." George nodded and led her out the door and to the car.


	7. Emily

**Chapter Seven**

Derek's Point of View

Derek was awake when Nora and George got there. He had been reading a comic book and munching on pancakes and bacon. As they entered the room, he glanced up at the clock, "It's about time, you guys!" He smirked at them, eliciting a laugh.

"Sorry, Derek, we didn't mean to leave you here this long." Nora told him, looking apologetic.

"Eh, don't worry about it. It was a blast," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, why don't you go see Emily while you're still here." Suggested Nora.

"Emily's here? Why doesn't she just come up and see me?" Derek asked.

"No, she was in the car with Casey, Derek. But she's fine. She just has a broken arm and whiplash. They kept her overnight to make sure there weren't any complications." George informed his son.

"Oh, okay. What room is she in?" Derek asked.

"289, or so the nurse thinks." George told him.

Derek nodded and left the room, grateful for an excuse to leave. It was akward being alone in a room with Casey while she was comatose.

Derek took the elevator down a floor and wandered around until he found room 289. He was suddenly aware that he was still wearing the same clothes from yesterday. He went into Emily's room and saw that it was empty too, except for her. _Don't these girls have friends? Why no visitors?_

"Derek! I'm so glad you came." Emily's smile was contagious, and Derek smiled back. He walked over to her bed, and careful not to hurt her, hugged her. She hugged him back, but not very tightly. Hugs are hard when one person has a broken arm. She had a cast on her arm with a few signatures on it, _So she did have some visitors_, and a neck brace keeping her head in an uncomfortably straight position.

"Derek, I'm so sorry. Do your parents know that? This is all my fault! I should have been paying more attention. How is Casey?" She seemed incredibly stressed, and started crying. _More crying. I hate crying. _Derek put his hand on her knee.

"Hey, don't cry. Look. No one blames you for anything. Not my dad, not Nora, and neither do I, so you can stop apologizing." He removed his hand from her leg, wondering why it felt wrong to put it there in the first place.

"And Casey?" Emily sounded unsure, scared. Derek hoped more tears weren't coming.

"Casey's…well. Casey's really in bad shape, Em. She's been in a coma for almost 24 hours, and they say that she's suffered some brain damage." He faltered on his words and felt a lump coming up in his throat.

Emily started to cry again and Derek just stood there, feeling useless. "Do..do they think that she'll…she'll come out of it, won't she?" Emily asked, her huge eyes staring at his face.

All he could do was shrug. He was afraid that if he started talking, he would start crying too. Emily took hold of his sleeve and tugged him to her. He leaned over the railing of the bed and let her cry on his shirt. He patted her back and bit his tongue to keep himself from crying. They stayed nearly five minutes in that awkward position before Derek pulled away.

"I'm going to go back to her room, to check on Dad and Nora." He said, trying to convince himself that he didn't care about Casey. She nodded and he left the room.

Casey's Point of View

Everything was white. The white blinded her. She thought she heard voices but she couldn't see anything. She was worried that she was going blind. _Hello? Is anyone there? Am I blind? What's going on? Mom?_ She yelled at the voices, but no one heard her.


	8. Secret Visits

**Chapter Eight**

Derek's Point of View

When Derek got back to the room, Nora was talking to Casey and George was watching them. Derek walked up and stood behind George.

"You are totally sitting in my bed, Dad." He said, smiling a little.

George grinned, "Well, it's Nora's bed tonight. Like I promised, you won't have to sleep here anymore."

Derek nodded, "Awesome." He looked at Nora, "And be warned, a nurse comes in at 1:00 and 5:00 AM. Worst. Times. Ever." He smiled slightly.

Nora nodded, not really paying attention. She went back to whispering at Casey. George got up, "Alright Derek, let's get you home." Derek nodded, grateful.

((A week later))

Derek groaned as yet another person asked him how Casey was. He just ignored this one. He didn't know them. All week people had been asking and asking. Couldn't he get any peace? He was tired of telling people, "There's been no change," mostly because he hated hearing it. Emily came up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Goddammit! Casey's.." He started to say as he turned around, "Oh, it's you. Sorry."

"It's alright. I know how you feel. People haven't been leaving me alone about her either. People are just concerned. Aren't you?" Emily asked.

"Yeah, I mean, no. I…yes. Of course I'm concerned, but I have a life outside of my step-sister in the hospital, you know." Derek said, fumbling over his words.

Emily nodded sympathetically but the class bell rang and she went off in the direction of her next class. Derek looked at his watch. It was 1:00. He had English next, a class he used to have with Casey. _Still have with Casey_. He told himself firmly. She'd be back and she'd be complaining about how he hadn't been collecting her homework. He went to his locker to grab his English book and saw his leather jacket. He picked that up instead and walked straight out the doors and into the parking lot. It'd been three days since he'd seen Case last. He was due for a visit. He tried to tell himself that it would be better than English class, but he knew that it wouldn't.

He got to his car and fought with himself over whether to leave school or not. He started the car and decided that since he already expended the effort to do that, he might as well go. He drove to the hospital. He was fighting with himself all the way up to the third floor. He walked up to the front desk in the lobby, "Casey MacDonald." He said before he could stop himself. She hit a button on the desk and the doors to the ICU unlocked and Derek strolled through. _Why am I here?_ He asked himself as he started towards room 315. He took a deep breath before walking in. Her hair had grown some more, but it would take months maybe even years for her to grow it back as long as she had it. It used to reach past the middle of her back and now it looked like his face after he hadn't shaved for a few days.

The chair had moved from the side of the bed by the door to the other side of her bed. It was near all the monitors. Maybe the beeping helped his dad and Nora sleep at night? They were still taking turns spending the night in the hospital, but Casey was still not showing any signs of improving.

He walked around her bed and sat in the chair. He leaned his arm and head on the railing and stared at her. She looked awful. Still. He sighed deeply. "Goddammit, Casey, why did you have to go and get hurt like this? Why couldn't you just stay home or..or come to my game or something? None of this would have happened." He put his head in his hands and glanced towards the monitors. He didn't know how to read them, but he wished that they would tell him something. That she was getting better.

Then he noticed the EEG. Amidst all the sorta flat lines were a few jumps. _Jesus, it happened again!_ Derek thought to himself. He decided to try something. He stared at the EEG and said "Casey? Casey can you hear me?" Even though he was expecting it, he still smiled when the EEG showed jumping lines. He grabbed her hand and pleaded, "Come on Case. I know you're in there. Please wake up." He glanced back at the EEG. It was jumping wildly. He dropped her hand, a little scared, and the jumping stopped.

He didn't touch her again, but spent another half an hour talking to her about nothing special.

"People have been non-stop asking about you. I swear, they're almost as annoying as you are….It's been hard taking tests without you sitting in front of me. I don't have anyone to cheat off of….We have to read this stupid Shakespeare play in English, you'd probably like it though. It's Hamlet. Truthfully, it's pretty boring, but you'd probably spend all week talking about how wonderful it is. At least everyone dies in the end…You know the hockey game you missed? I scored the only goal, the whole game. It was so awesome. You should have been there. I'm still pissed you weren't."

He went on like that until 2:30 when he had to drive home. He got home by 2:45 and never told anyone about his visit with Casey. Every day since then he drove to see her at 1:00 and spent an hour tell her about his day. He kept the EEG at healthy spikes, and he figured no one was the wiser until dinner one night.


	9. Secret Revealed

**Chapter Nine**

The phone rang and Nora got up to get it. Everyone was really jumpy when the phone rang, always wondering if it would be news about Casey. Everyone was silent while Nora talked on the phone and after she hung up, she grabbed her coat. "George, they say that she's been having regular activity in her brain, and that it's been active for a couple days! We need to go see her now!" George got up out of his chair and without bothering to clean up the dishes. Lizzie and Edwin begged to go too, but Nora refused.

"I really don't want you guys seeing her until she's awake." Nora said.

"And has more hair." Derek added. Nora gave him a look but he grabbed his coat. "Can I go?" He asked. Nora and George looked at each other and nodded.

Lizzie groaned, "Why does Derek get to go and we don't? She's my sister!"

Derek ruffled her hair and smirked, "Cause I'm older and, trust me, she looks really awful bald. You wouldn't want to see her." Lizzie started to protest, but George pleaded, "Could you please stay home and watch Marti? Please, Lizzie?" Lizzie nodded and gave up.

Derek was silent on the way to the hospital. He was nervous that his dad and Nora would find out that he'd been visiting her. That they'd be mad. He was happy though, that the doctor's thought that this was a good thing. With her brain. He wondered if her brain was only responding to his voice, or if it actually had become normal.

When they got to the hospital, the rushed to her room. A doctor was waiting for them. George and Derek shook his hand and Nora sat on the edge of Casey's bed.

"Well, we have some very good news. At first, Casey's EEG was pretty normal for a comatose patient. There was barely any activity. However, this week, she has been showing regular activity for about an hour around 1:00 every day." He glanced at Derek who looked at his feet, suddenly very interested in the floor pattern. "Then, yesterday, instead of the brain activity stopping at 2:00 or 2:30 like it had before, it stayed active. If you'd look over here," he said, pointing to her EEG, "You can see how these spikes are at regular intervals. That's a really great sign. It means that she might be coming out of the coma. We are very optimistic that Casey will recover."

Nora started to cry, and George started to ask questions. "But why for an hour every day. Is that normal?" The doctor looked over at Derek again and shook his head, "For it to happen on its own, no. However, talking to a comatose patient does have this effect, sometimes."

Nora looked confused, "But I come and see her every morning and every night. She hasn't ever had this kind of reaction, and I talk to her every minute I'm here."

The doctor nodded, "Yes, well, it only happens sometimes." He looked at Derek again, "We think it's because your son has been coming every day at that time and talking to her. Apparently she connected with what he was telling her and she reacted."

Derek lowered his head, he really wished the doctor had kept his damn mouth shut.

"Derek?" Nora said, asking both the doctor and Derek at the same time. Both of them nodded. "But Casey never used to 'connect' with Derek in any way. They fought all the time!" Nora was obviously hurt that Casey hadn't responded the same way with her.

"Nora, I'm sorry. It's just..well, I saw that paper and how it showed up all spiky whenever I talked to her. I thought it was a good thing so I kept talking to her, and then it just became a habit, I guess." Derek looked up at her and then at Casey and then back at the floor.

"It _is_ a good thing Derek, why didn't you tell us?" George asked, sounding a little angry.

"Cause, I was skipping class to come here. I just couldn't take being in English class without…her." His voice got very quiet and he couldn't meet his father's eyes.

George looked at the doctor, "So if she keeps this, up, how long will it be until she wakes up?"

The doctor shrugged, "It's anybody's guess, Mr. Venturi, but this is a good sign. It means that her brain is active and the chance of her waking up has greatly improved."

George nodded and the doctor excused himself and left the room.

"Derek, I don't think you understand how important this is. Why, for's god's sake, didn't you tell us?" George was angry now, and Derek was scared. "Sorry, I just. I told you, I just kept coming. I knew what I was doing was helping her, so I just kept coming. I didn't tell you because I knew you'd freak out. You'd come in here and try talking to her and it just doesn't work like that. I've found that she doesn't answer to pleads to wake up as much as she does to just me talking about my day. I knew that you would take it the wrong way and try to wake her up out of this, but she has to wake up on her own. Nothing we can say will make her wake up. She just wants someone here, not worrying about her, she just wants company." Derek was nervous and he fumbled over a lot of his words, but he finally got it out.

Nora continued to cry and she got up off the bed to grab a tissue off Casey's bedside table.

"You really should have told us Derek." George responded, still angry.

Derek crossed the room and sat in the chair. "I know." He said. "And I'm sorry, alright? I don't know what I was thinking." Derek looked up at his father.

George opened his mouth to say something, but instead, his jaw just dropped. Derek furrowed his brow, "What?" he glanced back and Casey and he whispered, "Nora.."

Casey's eyes were fluttering open.


	10. Why aren't we dating?

**Chapter Ten**

Nora raced over to the other side of Casey's bed, letting Derek stay on the side with the chair. George walked out into the hallway. "Doctor? Nurse? Somebody! She's waking up!"

Casey's Point of View

Everything was so bright! She thought she saw faces, but she wasn't sure. She definitely heard voices, they were buzzing endlessly around her head. Her head hurt, really bad.

"Casey? Casey, can you hear us?" someone said. It was a man's voice. She didn't recognize it.

Casey blinked her eyes shut, and kept them closed for a while before opening them again. She could see a little better, but her head still hurt really bad. "Where am I?" She asked quietly. There were at least five figures in the room, but she still couldn't see them very well. One of them, a woman, grabbed her hand.

"Casey, honey. You're in the hospital. You were in a car accident." The woman seemed nice, but unrecognizable.

"Casey…? Accident…?" Casey asked, looking around. She looked very confused. "Who are you?" She asked, looking at her mother. "What's going on?"

Nora's Point of View

"Casey? Darling, it's me. Your mom…" Nora looked scared. _What is going on? Why doesn't she remember anything_? Nora looked at one of the doctors. "Why doesn't she remember me?" She looked frantic.

"This is common, Mrs. Venturi. She has a case of amnesia, it seems like. Usually, this is only temporary." The doctor responded.

Before the doctors had more time to question Casey, she fell asleep. At least this was a normal sleep and not a comatose one. The doctors brought in more chairs for Nora and George to sit on. Positive that Casey was okay, Nora left the room and dialed their home phone. Edwin answered.

"Edwin? It's Nora. Casey just woke up….yes, she seems fine…well, she's having trouble remembering things, but she's talking and that's a good sign….no, we will bring you to see her tomorrow….okay, good night."

Nora walked back into the room and the family sat watching the sleeping Casey for an hour, silently. George finally broke the quiet, "Do any of you want something to eat?" He asked quietly, not wanting to wake Casey up. Derek shook his head. He was still full from dinner. Nora, however, nodded, "I'm not hungry, but I could really use a coffee. I'll go with you to the cafeteria." They left the room, telling Derek that they wouldn't be long.

Derek's Point of View

_So, Casey couldn't even remember her own mother. That wasn't good. But, at least she could talk normally, and that was what the doctors were worried about._ He leaned his elbow on his leg and leaned his head on his hand. He sighed deeply and this woke Casey up.

She stirred and sat up slowly. "Ow. My head." She said, reaching to put her hand on her forehead. One of her arms was in a sling, protecting her from moving around the arm nearest to her broken clavicle. Derek sat up straighter too.

"Want me to see if they can give you an pain meds?" He asked, quietly.

"No. I just want to know what's going on. Who are you?" She asked, turning to look at him.

He smirked and held out his hand, "Derek. And you're Casey. Nice to meet you." She giggled and shook his hand.

"You've got a case of temporary amnesia. Well, that's what the doctor said. I just think you're faking." He grinned at her again, letting her know that he was kidding.

"So..my names Casey. And you're Derek. Your name sounds kind of familiar. Are we..um…you know?" She asked, a little uncomfortable.

Derek blushed, "No..no we aren't dating. I'm just…" he paused, unsure of what to say. "I'm just a really good friend." He could have smacked himself. _Friend, Venturi? What the hell are you getting at? It's not like Dad won't tell her that we're step-siblings._

"Oh, okay." Casey smiled and Derek reddened again. _What the hell, Derek? Girls don't make you blush. You make girls blush._ Derek was not having a very good argument with himself, mostly because he was losing.

Casey suddenly remembered the voices she had heard but couldn't talk to. "Wait…you were the one that came and talked to me all the time. Weren't you?"

Derek nodded, "Yeah, you remember that?"

"A little."

Casey stared at Derek, obviously trying to remember him, and couldn't. "How long have I been in a coma?" She asked.

Derek stared back at her, without any hair, her eyes started to look really beautiful. _Venturi…stop. Stop thinking like that. Go back to school and make ga ga eyes at some other girl. NOT Casey._ "Well, almost two weeks. Everyone was really worried about you." He grabbed her hand. It felt cold in his. _DEREK!!_ His conscious was yelling at him, but he tried to ignore it. "You really had us scared there for a while." She smiled at him and he smiled back. "Your mom wants to bring your little brother and sisters to see you tomorrow. Do you think you'd be up to it? I can tell her if you're not, but they haven't seen you these past two weeks at all. Your mom didn't want to scare them."

Casey looked a little scared and squeezed Derek's hand. Chill's ran up and down his spine but he pretended not to notice. "Yeah, I do want to see them. What are their names? What are they like?"

"Well, you have two sisters, Lizzie and Marti, and a brother, Edwin. Lizzie's pretty cool. She's into sports. Edwin, he's smart, like you, and Marti, well, she's just adorable. Lizzie and Edwin are both 14 and Marti is 8."

"Uh, Derek?" She asked.

"Hmm?"

"How old am I?" She looked like she felt like a moron, but Derek just smiled.

"You're 18, Case." She nodded and smiled her thanks. He could really get used to that smile. He never used to see it much.

"Derek? Um, I have one more question."

"Shoot."

"Why _aren't_ we dating?"

Derek turned deep red and was saved from answering when Nora and George appeared at the door. Derek dropped Casey's hand like a hot potato.


	11. Trying to Remember

**Chapter Eleven**

George and Nora, too happy to see Casey awake didn't notice how red Derek's face was. He was grateful for it. Casey, on the other hand, looked a little confused. Nora smiled widely and approached the bed, sitting on the edge of it. "Casey! You're awake!" She reached to envelope Casey in a hug and Casey hugged her back, looking uncomfortable. Derek couldn't blame her. She didn't remember any of them.

"Derek hasn't been bugging you, has he?" George asked, smiling too.

"No, actually he's been telling me a lot. Filling me in. He's been really helpful." Casey responded, grateful for the excuse to pull away from Nora.

"Derek? Being helpful? Really?" George looked amused.

"Yeah. I just wish I could remember more." Casey replied, frowning a little.

"The memories will come back, Casey. Just hang in there." Nora looked sad too.

"I told her that you wanted to bring the kids in tomorrow to see her." Derek said, "I think it may help, to have more familiar faces around."

Casey nodded. "I want to see them. Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti." She counted the names off on her fingers, looking towards Derek to confirm that she got the names right. He nodded and smiled.

Nora hugged her again and stood up, "Okay, well, George is going to stay here tonight, if that's okay with you. We'll be back early in the morning to talk to the doctor about your recovery and bring your brother and sisters in."

"Actually…do you mind if I just stay here alone?" George looked a little hurt, so Casey continued, "It's just that I..I don't remember you all very well, and it's a little weird to have someone in here while I'm sleeping." Casey looked a little uncomfortable, and incredibly apologetic.

"I understand Casey. If you need anything, please call a nurse, okay sweetie?" Nora kissed her forehead and stood up, George followed suit and kissed Casey on the forehead too. Derek wished he could have done the same, and instantly regretted wishing it. _Not going to happen, Derek_, he told himself. The three of them left the room and before he closed the door, Derek winked at her.

Casey's Point of View

It took Casey a while to fall asleep, but when she woke up in the morning, there were six more people in it. Her hearted jumped out of fear until she realized that she recognized three of them. _Derek and mom and dad._ She still didn't remember anything past last night. The youngest girl in the room, _Marti_, squealed, "Casey's awake!"

Nora, Marti and Lizzie approached her bed, all of them smiling. "Casey, I'm so happy to see you, are you doing better?" The other girl spoke to her. _This must be Lizzie_, Casey told herself.

"A little, yeah. My head still hurts, but other than that, I'm doing well." She returned her excited sister's hug. As Lizzie hung on to her, Casey got a flash of a room full of posters of soccer stars, and she was hugging someone. _Lizzie, I remember Lizzie!_ Casey hugged Lizzie tighter.

"Lizzie…" She whispered, smiling. "I think I remember you." Lizzie grinned widely and Derek and Nora looked at Casey, both surprised.

"You're starting to remember things?" Nora asked, interested.

Casey nodded slowly, it still hurt to move her head too much. "A little. I think I remembered a room. With lots of posters of athletes, mostly soccer. Is that my room?" She didn't sound very sure.

"You? Into sports?" Derek snorted.

"No, Casey! That's my room!" Lizzie exclaimed, incredibly giddy.

Edwin and George had been silent up to this point. Edwin was nervous in hospitals and George was still a little hurt from last night. Edwin walked over to Derek and nudged him, "She does look goofy bald, eh bro?" He snickered. Derek glared at him, and could've killed him.

"Bro?" Casey looked confused.

"Are you starting to remember Derek and Edwin too, sweetie?" Nora asked. Casey still had a confused look on her face so Nora smiled, "It's okay honey. You haven't known them as long. They're your step-brothers, so don't feel too bad if you can't remember them right away. Marti too…I thought Derek explained this to you yesterday." It was Nora's turn to look confused.

"Oh, well. He did. I guess I just forgot." Casey responded, not taking her eyes off of Derek. Her eyes were burning a hole in his skull, and he looked at his feet. _At least now I know why we aren't dating…_

Derek's Point of View

Derek couldn't meet her eyes. He knew this would end badly.

"Are you guys hungry?" Nora asked the room. The kids all nodded enthusiastically. "Okay, well, why don't we all go to the cafeteria and get something to eat. Casey, do you want us to bring you something?"

"The doctors say I can eat bland stuff, so do you think you could bring me some pancakes and toast?" Casey asked, "No syrup though. I'm not allowed to eat that yet."

Nora nodded and led the kids all out of the room, "You coming, Derek?"

Derek shook his head, "Not really hungry, Nora." She nodded and led the way out of the room. George brought up the rear of all the kids, and then they were gone.

Derek was silent, sitting in the chair farthest from the bed. Casey growled, frustrated. "Would you say…something?!" She said, loudly.

"What do you want me to say?" Derek asked, quiet. He was too embarrassed to say anything.

"Well, for a start, you could explain why you didn't tell me we were siblings. You let me act all…you led me to believe…ugh! Why?" Casey was so frustrated; she couldn't find the words she wanted to say.

"I..well, I just…I don't know, Case." Derek fumbled over his words too.

"Oh, okay." Casey wasn't sure what to say, so she settled for saying nothing at all.

"God! I wish you'd get your memories back already. You're just not being…Casey. Stop being so nice to me!" Derek stood up and yelled.

"What? Sorry! Why are you mad at me for being nice?" Casey threw up her hands. "I should be mad at you! Don't turn this on me!" She yelled back, snarling.

"That's my girl," Derek smirked.

Casey groaned, yelling at Derek had hurt her head. She put at hand on her head and felt the stubble that was growing in. It made her feel worse. At the feel of her skull, she had another flash.

_She was in her room, brushing out her long brown hair. She smiled at herself in the mirror and heard her door open. Her smiled faded into a scowl. There was only one person in this house that would come into her room without knocking. Derek._

"_Hey, Space Case. Big English test tomorrow. I decided to give you the honors of tutoring me." He gave her that classic smirk of his._

"_No way Derek, study on your own. Though, I am surprised that you're studying at all." He smirked back._

"_Well, the thing is, I need to get a C in this class, or I'm kicked off the hockey team. So, you're going to tutor me." He sat on her bed, holding his English textbook in his hands._

_  
"No, Derek. You're just going to need to learn to deal with the consequences of your actions. Now, go away."_

Casey grimaced. She really had been mean to Derek. She remembered him a little better now.

"Hey Derek?" Casey looked at him, a little sad.

Derek, who had been trying not to stare at her, met her eyes, "Yeah?"

"I'm sorry about not helping you study for the English test. You didn't get kicked off your team did you?"

"What? Which test? Oh, hey, you're remembering! And, no, I got benched for a game, but we lost that game, so the coach convinced my teachers to let me stay on if I got some extra help." Derek brushed it off like it was no big deal. Truth was, it was absolutely awful and he hadn't spoken to Casey for weeks afterwards.

"Yeah, I remembered you asking me to tutor you. I was awful. Am I really like that?" Casey looked worried.

"Don't worry, Case. You're not mean. You only treat me like that." At the worried look on her face, Derek added, "But I'm mean to you too. It's sorta our thing." He walked over to her bed and leaned against the railing. "Trust me, when all this is over, we'll both go back to hating each other." He smiled sweetly and she laughed.

Derek heard the door open and quickly pulled away from the bed, in walked the kids, George and Nora with a plate of hot pancakes for Casey. He realized just how hungry he really was.

"Casey, we talked to the doctors. If everything goes well, they say you'll be able to leave in a few weeks!" Nora said excitedly. "Tomorrow they are going to start you on some activities. You're going to be able to walk around a bit tomorrow, and take a shower, and if all of that goes well, they are going to move you to a regular room next week!"

Casey smiled, "Finally, a real shower! Sponge baths are not my thing." The whole room laughed and half an hour later, everyone was saying their good-byes.


	12. A Bandana

**Chapter Twelve**

It was Wednesday, nearly two weeks after Casey had been taken to the hospital, and people were still asking about her. Even starting to visit her. Derek was a little jealous. Most of her visitors were guys. _Derek, you can't seriously be jealous._ Derek pushed the thought aside and headed to his next class. It was English, and even though he had skipped it for five days in a row to go and see Casey, his dad and Nora had told him that he _had_ to go. It was still awkward to see the empty seat in front of him every day. He tried to pay attention in the class, but the teacher's voice was dull and monotone and he soon fell asleep. He was jolted awake half an hour later by his best friend, Sam.

The rest of Derek's day was very uneventful, and he caught himself wanting it to be over as soon as possible so that he could go and see Casey. It had only been a few days since the doctor told her that she could walk around, and it had been a blast taking her on walks through the halls in the hospital. She wasn't very good at walking yet, she couldn't keep her balance very well and she shuffled more than walked. The doctors said that the more practice she got, the better she'd get.

At the final bell of school, Derek was more than ready to leave until Sam caught up with him. "See you at practice in five!" Sam called, rushing off to the locker rooms. Derek groaned. He'd forgotten about hockey practice, and he couldn't miss it. People would become suspicious. Practice lasted an hour, and even though he was distracted, Derek still scored a few goals.

After practice, Derek headed to 'The Prince' and drove towards the hospital. On the seat next to him was a bag containing a gift for Casey. He thought the gift was pretty informal, and Derek hoped that she wouldn't be freaked out by the fact that he bought it for her.

He headed up to the third floor, was beeped into ICU, and walked to room 315. Casey was typing on a laptop that George and Nora had gotten her. They figured she'd use it to pass the time, but all she did was homework on it.

"Hey Case," Derek said, giving her a smile. She grinned back and Derek's stomach dropped. He walked towards the bed and handed her the bag. "Gotcha something."

Casey grinned and rubbed her hands together, "Derek! You didn't need to get me anything."

"I know, but you'll like this."

Casey reached into the bag greedily and pulled out a pink bandana. "Aw, thanks!" She attempted to put it on, but her broken clavicle prevented her from doing so. Derek stepped forward and began tying it on.

"I know you've been self-conscious about walking around without any hair," He smiled at her and sat on the edge of the bed after he was done tying the bandana.

"Yes. This was really sweet of you, Derek." She tilted her head and gave him a small smile.

"Derek Venturi is not sweet." He told her with a smirk. Really, he didn't mind it too much, being called 'sweet' by Casey. "Did you want to go for a walk down the halls?" He asked.

"Yeah. I've only been out of bed once today, and I could really use the stretch." She attempted to move the covers off of her, and Derek helped. Casey had been upgraded from a backless hospital gown to 

hospital scrubs. Derek helped her off the bed and grabbed her IV tower before putting an arm around her waist so that she didn't fall over while trying to put her slippers on.

Derek led her out into the hallway and they started towards the lobby.

Casey's Point of View

Derek's arm around her waist was comforting. Truthfully, she really didn't need to lean on anyone to walk anymore. She could keep her balance okay. She wouldn't tell Derek that though, she liked him being this close.

Casey had begun to remember more things the past few days, and even though pieces were still missing, she had enough memories to know the names of her visitors and how she knew them. In fact, there was only one visitor that she didn't remember. He had told her that his name was Max and he seemed hurt that she didn't remember him. Derek was in the room at the time and after Max left, she questioned him.

"_So, who is Max?" She asked._

"_An asshole." He replied, and she rolled her eyes. "Actually, he was an on-again-off-again boyfriend of yours for a few months, but he cheated on you and you broke up with him for real about a month or so ago." Derek told her._

"_Oh, well, I'm glad I don't remember that." Casey responded._

"_Me too." Derek said._

Casey got tired quickly and they had to return to her room. Derek helped her back into bed and sat on it again. He grabbed her laptop and searched through the games installed on it. "You've only got Solitaire on here? What have you been doing all this time?" Derek asked, surprised. He looked up at Casey and met her eyes.

"Mostly homework. I have my teachers email it to me." She responded smiling.

"That is so like you. You just never stop …thinking." Derek said with disgust.

"Well, at least I can think." She retorted with a grin.

"You're lucky that you're in a hospital right now, otherwise you would so get it." Derek said, smirking.


	13. Casey comes Home

**Chapter Thirteen**

Casey's Point of View

It was another two weeks before Casey came home. By now, she had all of her memories back and she could even walk around for long periods of time. Loud noises and bright lights still gave her headaches, and her hair was barely two inches long, but she still had Derek's bandana to cover it up.

She headed up the stairs after telling her family that she wanted to be alone for a while. She entered her room and took a deep breath. _It's good to be home_. She sprawled out on her bed, clutching one of her pillows to her chest. The room was left just as she remembered it. There was a knock on her door. "Come in." She called. _What happened to 'I want to be alone for a bit'? _ She wondered.

Lizzie entered the room and Casey smiled. She sat up and patted her bed, "What's up Liz?" She asked. Lizzie grinned and sat down next to her. She wrapped Casey in a hug and squeezed her tight.

"Casey, I'm so glad you're home. I've missed you so much. It's been so weird not having you around. Derek's actually been quiet and sort of nice. Mom cried a lot and that made Marti cry. Edwin even stopped making gas jokes. He said they weren't as funny if you weren't here to yell at him." Lizzie said, still holding on her sister's waist.

"I'm glad I'm home too, Liz, though I'm not really looking forward to Edwin's jokes." She grinned and Lizzie laughed. "Do you mind if I take a nap, Liz?" Casey asked, really just wanting to be alone. Lizzie nodded and left the room.

Casey closed her eyes and felt herself drifting off when she heard her door open again. She opened her eyes, frustrated. It was Derek. "Derek, I was trying to take a nap."

"Take a nap later, Case. You've been sleeping for the past month in that hospital." Derek responded, a smile on his face. The smile just annoyed Casey. She _was_ getting tired.

"Just leave Derek, please? I am really tired."

"No, it's time for dinner. Get up. Come on, Nora asked me to come get you."

"Well, tell her that I'm not hungry."

"Can't do that, Case." Derek said with a smirk.

"You're just trying to be mean."

"No I'm not. You're just trying to be lazy."

"Derek, just go away."

"No."

"God! Why do you have to be so difficult?"

"You started it."

"No I didn't" Casey retorted, frowning.

"Yes, I believe you did. 'Derek, I was trying to take a nap'." Derek replied, poorly imitating Casey's voice.

"Well, I was."

"I think you're the one being difficult."

"No. I. Am. Not." Casey said through clenched teeth.

She stood up, ready to shove him out of the room if she needed to. "Just go, Derek." She said, almost yelling.

Derek stepped closer and grabbed her head, "Shut up, Casey." He said and kissed her hard. He released her and looked at her face for a response, but she just stood dumbfounded. He sighed and left the room, going down to the kitchen to get dinner.

Casey sat back down on her bed and reached up to touch her lips. _Did Derek just kiss me?_ She didn't know what to think. _What are his motives behind this? Does he like me or am I just another one of his toys? What is going on?_ So many thoughts were running through Casey's head. She wasn't tired anymore, that was for sure. She knew it would be uncomfortable, but she made her way to the kitchen anyway. If she didn't come down, Nora would come up and get her.

"What's for dinner?" Casey asked when she got into the kitchen.

"Chicken, but I thought you weren't hungry." Nora responded. _So Derek had relayed the message._

"I wasn't, but I figure I should probably eat something, even if it's only a little." Casey said, purposely avoiding Derek's eyes.

Casey sat at the table across from Derek, the only seat open, and Nora passed her the plate of chicken. She took a small piece off the plate and cut it in half. She kept her eyes on her plate until she felt someone kick her shin from under the table. She grimaced, but held in her scream. She glared up at Derek, but her expression turned softer when she saw his face. He looked really hurt. She looked back down at her plate, not really wanting to feel guilty.

After dinner, everyone went to their rooms, except for Edwin and George who stayed in the living room and watched a football game. When Casey got into her room, she fell on her bed and closed her eyes. She didn't know what was going on, and she didn't want to admit that she liked how Derek kissed her, even if she didn't kiss him back.

As if on cue, Derek entered her room and closed the door behind him. "Say _something_ Casey. Please!" Derek begged, looking at her.


	14. It's about TIme

**Chapter Fourteen**

Casey's Point of View

Derek looked hurt, confused, and desperate. Casey just wanted to hold him and comfort him, but she would not let herself feel guilty.

"What do you want me to say, Derek? You k...kissed me. You can't tell me it was something special. I'm not one of those girls that chase you around hoping you'll talk to them. You don't think of me as anything different than the last girl you kissed, Derek, and you know it."

"But, Casey, that's not true." Derek looked even more hurt. Casey fought back tears.

"Save it, Derek." She said and turned over on her bed, her back now facing him.

"I only did it to get you to shut up anyway, so don't flatter yourself." Derek said and walked out, slamming the door behind him. Casey burst into tears, but kept her sobbing silent. She only wished everything she said wasn't true.

Derek's Point of View

_Why do I even try? Girls come to me, not the other way around. Casey's just stuck-up. She's too difficult anyway, let some other guy deal with her._ His thoughts were mean; he was trying to convince himself that he didn't care. He wasn't doing a very good job of it. He glanced at his cell phone sitting on his desk and picked it up. His fingers paused over the keys before quickly typing out a message and sending it. He heard the familiar intro to 'Bittersweet Symphony' coming from Casey's room, indicating that she had gotten his text message. He held his breath, waiting for her to _do_ something, text him, call him, come and talk to him. He didn't care, as long as she _did_ something. Five minutes later he was still waiting. It drove him absolutely nuts.

Casey's Point of View

Casey stopped crying when she heard one of her favorite songs fill her room. She wiped her eyes with one of her hands and crossed her room to her desk where her cell phone was ringing. She picked it up. 'NEW TXT MESSAGE – Derek' read the screen. She took a deep breath and pressed the 'OK' button.

_I knew you wouldn't talk to me in person, but hopefully you'll answer this. I can't tell you I've changed, you wouldn't believe me, and I wouldn't believe me either. But you make me want to change, and I will try, if you'll let me. I don't hate you Case, and I just want you to give me a chance to prove that to you._

The tears started flowing again. Casey didn't know what to do. She read the text over and over again until she had it almost memorized. She knew what she had to do. She wiped her tears with her hand again and walked across the hall to Derek's room.

He still sat at his desk, staring at his phone like an idiot. When she opened his door he turned to look, ready to yell at Edwin, but when he saw it was her, his face became blank. He didn't know how to act. She closed the door behind her, crossed the room and crawled into his lap, clinging to his neck. She 

started crying again. He wrapped his arms around her, partly to keep her from falling off the chair, and partly to comfort her. He rested his head on her shoulder and stroked her hair, making soothing noises.

"Casey," he said after a while. She didn't respond, but just clung tighter.

"Casey, I…I think I love you." The words sounded foreign on his tongue. He'd only said it twice before, and neither time he meant it. He'd never said it first.

She pulled away from his neck and stared at him, searching his eyes for the truth. His eyes begged her to believe him. "I think I love you too, Derek." She gave him a small smile and he grinned broadly. She leaned forward and lightly pressed her lips against his, testing. He kissed her back, gently, not wanting to scare her. She smiled into his kiss and he deepened the kiss. They went on like that for what seemed like several minutes to the eavesdroppers outside Derek's door.

After a while, Casey got off Derek's lap and headed towards his door. He rolled his desk chair after her, grabbing her wrist, "Do you have to go?" He asked, giving her a puppy dog face. She giggled, "Yes. People will start to get suspicious."

Derek pouted, "So." Casey laughed again and he stood up out of his chair and walked over to the door, "Alright, promise you'll come back?" Derek asked, still pouting. Casey nodded enthusiastically. Derek opened his door and two figures fell into the room. They had obviously been leaning against the door.

"EDWIN!" "LIZZIE!" Derek and Casey shouted together. Lizzie and Edwin stood up quickly. Derek looked as if he could kill them but Edwin only smiled, "It's about time, eh Liz?" Lizzie giggled. Edwin held his hand out to Lizzie and she stopped giggling and groaned, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a crumpled ten. She put it in his hand and they both started laughing again.

"You had a _bet_ going about this?" Casey asked, glaring at them.

"Well, it's been like a month. You two are absolutely oblivious." Lizzie said, crossing her arms.

Derek and Casey shot a glance at each other, "We're not oblivious!" They said together.

The four of them started to laugh, "Told you," Edwin said between chuckles.

"Guys," Derek said, suddenly serious. "You two can't tell…anyone."

Lizzie bumped shoulders with Edwin, "Don't worry about it. Our lips are sealed."

Edwin frowned and turned to Lizzie, "We could have gotten something out of them for making us keep their secret you know. You're an awful negotiator."

"And you're an awful brother." Lizzie countered.

"No, you both are great. Just wonderful." Casey said, smiling and pulling them both into a hug.

The four of them heard Nora and George climbing the stairs, "Time for dinner!" Nora shouted. When she reached the top of the stairs, she furrowed her brow at the four of them standing together.

"Get out of my room, doofuses." Derek said, putting a scowl on his face.

"Der-EK!" Casey said, catching on to Derek's plan.

"Especially you, Spacey." He said, growling.

She narrowed her eyes at him and let out an 'UGH!' of frustration. Nora and George rolled their eyes, thoroughly sick of the fighting, but used to it. "Just come downstairs for dinner, and stop fighting!" George said to them. As soon as their backs were turned, Derek winked at Casey and she smiled. They followed Lizzie and Edwin down the stairs for dinner, finding every excuse to bump up against each other.


	15. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

Thanks so much for the reviews, and keep them coming! I love reading them!

I will probably be doing more LIWD fanfics, but I'm not really sure if this story really needs a sequel, but if enough people want one, I might write it.

Thanks for reading!


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